After Rohith Vemula suicide, Dalit teachers at Hyderabad University 'scared and worried'

The Hyderabad Central University (HCU) teachers and officials, predominantly Dalits, who are agitating against the varsity authorities after Rohith Vemula’s suicide believe they are "being watched" and have been given enough veiled messages that the names of 50 of those protesting have been sent to New Delhi, reports The Indian Express.

Rohith Vemula. Image courtesy: Facebook

The newspaper reports that the senior-most medical officer Captain Dr Ravindra Kumar was huddled with some university officials at the health centre - all Dalits who are "scared and worried."

Of the 60 Dalit teachers at the university, no one was present at the protest meeting Thursday morning fearing action. Some senior Dalit students also kept to themselves on the fringes.

“The university administration has sent us feelers: that names of 50 prominent Dalit teachers, officials and students have been sent to New Delhi, and we are all under watch. So we are basically hiding here instead of standing out there in solidarity with others for Rohith Vemula."We are afraid we might be dubbed anti-national too,” Kumar told The Indian Express.

Some senior faculty members willing to speak off the record have alleged that the vice-chancellor and top officials have systematically isolated the Dalit staff. “The message is: do not threaten us with resignations and protests.”

The other angle being reported from campus is that some “mediocre” Dalit officers are being used to threaten the other Dalit staff to fall in line. “They are scared of talented Dalits who made it on merit, who do not seek favour and are participating in the protest going on in the university against Rohith’s death,” one of the HCU officials told The Indian Express.